Skip to main content

Your All-Access Pass to Vogue

Stories From Standing Rock

In North Dakota, thousands of Native Americans and allies have joined the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe in a fight to stop the Dakota Access Pipeline that they say threatens water and sacred land. They call themselves water protectors, not protesters, and they have built a nonviolent resistance movement based in ceremony. Here, in scenes from Standing Rock and at a demonstration in nearby Bismarck, we meet people from all over the world who have come to support and help the camp prepare for winter.

Released on 11/22/2016

Transcript

(Native American drumming and chanting)

(axe chops)

(country music)

(horse steps)

I was here to protect the water.

(shells jingle)

I'm from Chicago Illinois and I'm a harmony keeper.

I'm committed to stand in solidarity with Standing Rock.

My name is Wynonna Castol and I'm from the

Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe.

I'm a traditional cook here at

(speaks foreign language)

When we first started it was like, a couple hundred.

It grew to like 3000.

It was crazy, how, you know, much people that came.

Okay, he's gunna pray.

Everybody, I need your attention.

Us women are backbone of our families

and backbone of our people.

All nice and snug!

It's beautiful to see all nations representing here,

fighting for the same reason:

for our Earth, for our mother, for our water.

Water is life. Water is sacred.

Today our hearts are grieved, because we can't carry on

the way our ancestors have, 14,000 years.

And there's a lot of people here today who carry

the same grief as I.

[All] For our brothers and sisters.

(Native American drumming and chanting)

(country music)

(Native American drumming and chanting)

(fire cracks)

Featuring: Standing Rock